CN112448358A

CN112448358A - Wire protection member and method of manufacturing wire protection member

Info

Publication number: CN112448358A
Application number: CN202010830237.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 木暮直人
Original assignee: Yazaki Corp
Current assignee: Yazaki Corp
Priority date: 2019-08-27
Filing date: 2020-08-18
Publication date: 2021-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 2040-08-18
Also published as: JP2021035224A; US20210065938A1; US11961633B2; EP3785999A1; EP3785999B1; JP7123878B2; CN112448358B

Abstract

An electric wire protecting member that covers and protects an outer periphery of an electric wire, the electric wire protecting member including: an outer member made of a flexible resin and having a tubular body in which crests and troughs are alternately formed in an axial direction around a circumferential direction orthogonal to the axial direction; and a tubular bending restricting member that is accommodated in the outer member and is bendable in one direction with one side portion as an inner side. The bending restricting member includes a cut portion and a plurality of divided tubular portions connected by a connecting portion formed in one side portion. The cutout portion is inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction of the bending restricting member.

Description

Wire protection member and method of manufacturing wire protection member

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a wire protecting member and a method of manufacturing the wire protecting member.

Background

For example, as a guide member through which electric wires of a wire harness routed between a vehicle body and a slide door pass, a plurality of link bodies formed in a tubular shape are connected by a base plate that is continuous in one direction, and the base plate is bent and deformed by opening and/or closing a cutout portion formed between adjacent link bodies (for example, refer to patent documents 1 and 2). According to this guide member, the bending direction of the wire harness can be restricted in one direction.

[ patent document 1] JP-A-2017-

[ patent document 2] JP-A-2013-

However, when the door is opened and/or closed and the guide member is bent and stretched, the guide member may be damaged due to contact with a surrounding structure, or foreign substances may enter between the link bodies to cause biting, so that the guide member may not be smoothly bent and/or stretched. In addition, water, sand, or the like may enter between the plurality of link bodies, which may damage the wires of the wire harness.

Disclosure of Invention

One or more embodiments provide a wire protecting member capable of being smoothly bent and/or stretched while advantageously protecting wires of a wire harness, and a method of manufacturing the wire protecting member.

In aspect (1), the electric wire protecting member covers and protects an outer periphery of the electric wire, the electric wire protecting member including: an outer member made of a flexible resin and having a tubular body in which crests and troughs are alternately formed in an axial direction around a circumferential direction orthogonal to the axial direction; and a tubular bending restricting member that is accommodated in the outer member and is bendable in one direction with one side portion as an inner side. The bending restricting member includes a cut portion and a plurality of divided tubular portions connected by a connecting portion formed in one side portion. The cutout portion is inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction of the bending restricting member.

In the aspect (2), the bending restricting member may include a slit formed in the other side portion throughout the axial direction.

According to the aspect (1), the outer periphery of the electric wire can be covered and protected, and high water resistance and dust resistance of the electric wire can be ensured. Further, the bending direction of the electric wire may be restricted in only one direction by the bending restricting member accommodated in the exterior member. In addition, since the bending restriction member for restricting the bending direction is accommodated in the exterior member, the bending restriction member can be prevented from being invaded by water, sand, or the like together with the electric wire of the wire harness by the exterior member, the contact with the surrounding structure can be suppressed, and the smooth bending and/or stretching operation can be maintained.

In addition, in the bending restricting member inserted and accommodated in the exterior member, the cutout portions for forming the plurality of divided tubular portions are inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction. Therefore, when the wire protecting member is bent and/or stretched, the inward protruding portions of the trough portions of the outer member can be suppressed from entering between the divided tubular portions. Thus, for example, the bending restricting member may be advantageously bent and/or stretched in accordance with the opening and/or closing operation of the sliding door.

According to the aspect (2), the slit is formed on the other side portion of the bending restricting member in the axial direction. Therefore, the electric wire can be easily inserted into the bending restricting member from the slit, and the bending restricting member can be mounted later.

In aspect (3), a method of manufacturing a wire protecting member includes: molding an exterior member with a flexible resin; extruding and forming a tubular formed body; forming a cut portion by biting at least one of the cutting blades into the molded body, dividing the molded body into a plurality of divided tubular portions connected by a connecting portion formed in one side portion, and forming a tubular bending restriction member bendable in one direction with the one side portion as an inner side; and receiving the tubular bend limiting member in the outer member.

In the aspect (4), biting at least one of the cutting blades into the compact includes passing the compact between a plurality of cutters rotating in opposite directions in synchronization with each other, and biting the plurality of cutting blades into the compact from both sides.

In the aspect (5), biting of the at least one of the cutting blades into the molded body includes biting of the at least one of the cutting blades into the molded body obliquely, and forming a cutout portion that is inclined in an axial direction with respect to a radial direction in the molded body.

According to the aspect (3), the tubular molded body is extruded. Then, the cutting blade of the cutter is bitten into the molded body, and a cut portion is formed while leaving one side portion, thereby dividing the molded body into a plurality of divided tubular portions connected by a connecting portion formed on the one side portion. As a result, it is possible to easily obtain a bending restricting member in which each divided tubular portion is bent at the connecting portion and the bending direction is restricted to only one direction with one side portion as an inner side as a whole. Further, since the molded body to be the bending restriction member is molded by extrusion molding, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with a case where the molded body is formed by injection molding which requires a dedicated mold depending on the size and length. In addition, a portion of the divided tubular portion, other than the connection portion, which restricts bending when bending in another direction may be easily formed to be thick to ensure high strength.

According to the aspect (4), the cut-out portion can be easily formed in the molded body formed by extrusion molding to obtain the bending restricting member including the plurality of divided tubular portions.

According to the aspect (5), it is possible to easily form the bending restricting member in which the cutout portions for forming the plurality of divided tubular portions are inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction. In the wire protecting member in which the bending restricting member is accommodated in the outer member, when the wire protecting member is bent and/or stretched, the inward protruding portions in the valley portions of the outer member can be suppressed from entering between the divided tubular portions. Thus, for example, the bending restricting member may be advantageously bent and/or stretched in accordance with the opening and/or closing operation of the sliding door.

According to one or more embodiments, a wire protecting member capable of smoothly bending and/or stretching while favorably protecting an electric wire of a wire harness, and a method of manufacturing the wire protecting member may be provided.

The present invention has been described briefly above. Furthermore, the details of the invention will be set forth by reading the manner in which the invention is practiced as described below with reference to the drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wire protecting member according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electric wire protecting member.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a bending restricting member constituting the electric wire protecting member.

Fig. 4A is a plan view of the bending restricting member. Fig. 4B is a plan view of the bending restricting member in a bent state.

Fig. 5 is a view taken along an arrow a of fig. 4B.

Fig. 6 is a schematic plan view of a part of the electric wire protecting member, showing a relationship between the trough portion of the outer member and the cutout portion of the bending restricting member.

Fig. 7 is a schematic plan view of a part of the electric wire protecting member, showing a relationship between a valley portion of the outer member and a cutout portion of the bending restricting member according to the reference example.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a molded body for explaining an extrusion molding step in the method of manufacturing the electric wire protective member.

Fig. 9 is a schematic plan view of a cutting processing device for explaining a cutting step in the method of manufacturing the electric wire protective member.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the electric wire protecting member according to the present embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, the electric wire protection member 10 according to the present embodiment is mounted to a wire harness 1 and protects the wire harness 1. The wire harness 1 is a bundle of electric wires formed by bundling a plurality of electric wires, and passes through an electric wire protection member 10 having a tubular shape. As a result, the outer periphery of the wire harness 1 is covered and protected by the wire protecting member 10. The wire harness 1 is routed between a vehicle body of a vehicle such as an automobile and a slide door slidable between a closed position and an open position with respect to the vehicle body. Further, the electric wire protecting member 10 is attached to a bent and/or stretched portion of the wire harness 1, which is repeatedly bent and/or stretched together with the sliding door when the sliding door is opened and/or closed.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electric wire protecting member.

As shown in fig. 2, the electric wire protecting member 10 includes an outer member 20, a bending restricting member 30, and a fixing member 40.

The outer member 20 is made of a flexible resin tubular body, and is alternately formed in the axial direction with a plurality of crests 21 and troughs 22 formed around a circumferential direction orthogonal to the axial direction. The outer member 20 is a so-called bellows, and can be bent in any direction.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a bending restricting member constituting the electric wire protecting member. Fig. 4A is a plan view of the bending restricting member, and fig. 4B is a plan view of the bending restricting member in a bent state. Fig. 5 is a view taken along an arrow a of fig. 4B.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4A, the bending restricting member 30 is formed in a tubular shape. The bending restricting member 30 is an extrusion molded product of a synthetic resin, and is formed by cutting work after the extrusion molding. The bending restricting member 30 includes cut portions 32 formed at intervals in the axial direction. The cutout portion 32 is formed in the circumferential direction other than the one side portion 30a of the bending restricting member 30, whereby the bending restricting member 30 is divided into a plurality of divided tubular portions 33, and the plurality of tubular portions 33 are divided by the cutout portion 32 in the axial direction. The cutout portions 32 that divide the bending restricting member 30 into a plurality of portions are respectively inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction of the bending restricting member 30. In addition, the bending restricting member 30 has a slit 31 in the axial direction on the other side portion 30 b.

As shown in fig. 5, in the bending restricting member 30, a portion where the cutout portion 32 is not formed on the one side portion 30a is a connecting portion 34, and the adjacent divided tubular portions 33 are connected to each other by the connecting portion 34. In addition, an escape hole 35 is formed at an end of the cut-out portion 32, and an external force applied to the end of the cut-out portion 32 is dispersed at the escape hole 35 to suppress the connection portion 34 from being broken due to the external force concentrated on the end of the connection portion 34.

As shown in fig. 4B, when a bending force with the one side portion 30a including the connecting portion 34 as the inner side is applied to the bending restricting member 30, the connecting portion 34 connecting the adjacent divided tubular portions 33 is bent. As a result, the other side portions 30b of the respective divided tubular portions 33 are separated from each other, and thus the entire bending restricting member 30 is bent with the one side portion 30a as the inside.

On the other hand, when a bending force with the other side portion 30b including the slit 31 as the inner side is applied to the bending restricting member 30, the end surfaces of the adjacent divided tubular portions 33 abut against each other. As a result, the bending restricting member 30 is restricted from being bent inward of the other side portion 30 b. As described above, the bending restriction member 30 is allowed to bend in one direction with the one side portion 30a as the inside, and is restricted to bend in the other direction with the other side portion 30b as the inside.

As shown in fig. 2, the fixing member 40 includes a fitting tubular portion 41 formed in a half-cut tubular shape and a flange portion 42 formed at one end of the fitting tubular portion 41. The fitting tubular portion 41 is fitted to the end of the bending restraining member 30 to lock the end of the bending restraining member 30. The flange portion 42 abuts the end of the outer member 20. As a result, the fixing member 40 in which the bending restricting member 30 is locked by the fitting tubular portion 41 is held at the end portion of the outer member 20.

To mount the electric wire protecting member 10 to the wire harness 1, the bending restricting member 30 is mounted to the wire harness 1 inserted through the exterior member 20. Specifically, the wire harness 1 is inserted from the slit 31 formed in the other side portion 30b of the bending restricting member 30, and the wire harness 1 is arranged inside each divided tubular portion 33 of the bending restricting member 30. Note that the wire harness 1 may be previously passed through the inside of the bending restricting member 30.

Next, the fitting tubular portion 41 of the fixing member 40, which has been previously passed through by the wire harness 1, is locked to the end of the bending restricting member 30, and the bending restricting member 30 is relatively moved toward the outer member 20 to be inserted into the outer member 20. Further, the fixing member 40 locked to the end of the bending restricting member 30 is fixed to the outer member 20. As a result, the electric wire protective member 10 is mounted to the wire harness 1.

As described above, the electric wire protective member 10 is mounted to the wire harness 1, so that the outer periphery of the wire harness 1 can be covered and protected, and high water resistance and dust resistance with respect to the electric wires of the wire harness 1 can be ensured.

When the sliding door is opened and/or closed, the bending direction of the wire harness 1 may be limited in only one direction by the bending limiting member 30 accommodated in the exterior member 20. In addition, since the bending restriction member 30 for restricting the bending direction is accommodated in the exterior member 20, the bending restriction member 30 can be prevented from being invaded by water, sand, or the like together with the electric wires of the wire harness 1 by the exterior member 20, the contact with the surrounding structure can be suppressed, and the smooth bending and/or stretching operation can be maintained.

As shown in fig. 6, in the outer member 20, a plurality of crests 21 and troughs 22 formed around the circumferential direction are alternately formed in the axial direction. In contrast, in the bending restricting member 30 inserted and accommodated in the outer member 20, the cutout portions 32 for forming the plurality of divided tubular portions 33 are inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction. That is, the cutout portions 32 intersect the trough portions 22 of the outer member 20 on the inner periphery of the outer member 20.

Here, a reference example will be described.

As shown in fig. 7, the electric wire protecting member 10A according to the reference example includes a bending restricting member 30A in which a cutout portion 32 for forming a divided tubular portion 33 is formed in a radial direction orthogonal to an axial direction.

In this reference example, since the cutout portions 32 of the bending restricting member 30A are formed in the same direction as the peak portions 21 and the trough portions 22 of the outer member 20, when the electric wire protecting member 10A is bent and/or stretched, the inwardly projecting trough portions 22 may enter between the divided tubular portions 33 on the inner periphery of the outer member 20. As a result, the inward protrusions of the valleys 22 may be caught between the divided tubular portions 33, the original stretched state may not be restored, and the opening and/or closing operation of the sliding door may not be smooth.

On the other hand, according to the electric wire protecting member 10 of the present embodiment, in the bending restricting member 30 inserted and accommodated in the outer member 20, the cutout portions 32 for forming the plurality of divided tubular portions 33 are inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction (see fig. 6). Therefore, when the wire protecting member 10 is bent and/or stretched, the inward protruding portions of the trough portions 22 of the outer member 20 can be suppressed from entering between the divided tubular portions 33 in the inner periphery of the outer member 20. Therefore, the bending restricting member 30 may be advantageously bent and/or stretched according to the opening and/or closing operation of the sliding door.

Next, a method for manufacturing the electric wire protecting member 10 will be described.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a molded body for explaining an extrusion molding step in the method of manufacturing the electric wire protective member. Fig. 9 is a schematic plan view of a cutting processing device for explaining a cutting step in the method of manufacturing the electric wire protective member.

(extrusion Molding step)

First, as shown in fig. 8, a molded body 30M to be the bending restriction member 30 is molded. The molded body 30M is formed in a tubular shape having a slit 31. The molded body 30M is molded by extrusion molding in which a molten resin is extruded from a die.

(cutting step)

Next, as shown in fig. 9, the molded body 30M is subjected to a cutting process. The molded body 30M is cut by the cutting device 50. The cutting processing device 50 includes a pair of cutters 51 disposed at a distance from each other. Each cutter 51 includes a rotating shaft 52 and a plurality of cutting blades 53 disposed around the rotating shaft 52. These cutting blades 53 are disposed obliquely with respect to the rotation axis 52. The rotary shafts 52 of the respective cutters 51 rotate in synchronization with each other in opposite directions (arrow R directions in fig. 9).

In order to cut the molded body 30M by the cutting device 50, the molded body 30M with the downward slit 31 is inserted between the cutters 51 of the cutting device 50 in the processing direction X. Then, the cutting blades 53 of the rotary cutter 51 bite into the molded body 30M obliquely from both sides. Therefore, by forming the cutout portion 32 in the portion into which the dicing blade 53 bites, the molded body 30M is divided into a plurality of portions in the axial direction. In the molded body 30M, one side portion 30a on the opposite side to the slit 31 is a connecting portion 34, and the bending restricting member 30 including a plurality of divided tubular portions 33 connected by these connecting portions 34 is formed.

The thus obtained bending restricting member 30 is inserted into the exterior member 20, and its end is held by the exterior member 20 through the fixing member 40. Thus, the electric wire protecting member 10 is obtained in which the bending restricting member 30 for restricting the bending direction is accommodated in the outer member 20.

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing the electric wire protection member 10 according to the present embodiment, the molten resin is extruded from the die, and the tubular molded body 30M is extrusion-molded. Then, the cutting blade 53 of the cutter 51 is bitten into the molded body 30M, and the cut-out portion 32 is formed while leaving the one side portion 30a, thereby dividing the molded body 30M into a plurality of divided tubular portions 33 connected by the connecting portion 34 formed on the one side portion 30 a. As a result, it is possible to easily obtain the bending restricting member 30 in which each divided tubular portion 33 is bent at the connecting portion 34 and the bending direction is restricted to only one direction with the one side portion 30a as an inner side as a whole. Further, since the molded body 30M to be the bending regulating member 30 is molded by extrusion molding, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with a case where the molded body 30M is formed by injection molding which requires a dedicated mold depending on the size and length. In addition, a portion of the divided tubular portion 33, other than the connection portion 34, which restricts bending when bending in the other direction can be easily formed thick to ensure high strength.

Since the cutting blade 53 is obliquely bitten into the molded body 30M, and the cut-out portions 32 that are inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction are formed in the molded body 30M, it is possible to easily form the bending restricting member 30 in which the cut-out portions 32 for forming the plurality of divided tubular portions 33 are inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction.

In the wire protecting member 10 in which the bending restricting member 30 is accommodated in the outer member 20, when the wire protecting member 10 is bent and/or stretched, it is possible to suppress the inward protruding portions in the valley portions 22 of the outer member 20 from entering between the divided tubular portions 33. Thus, for example, the bending restricting member may be advantageously bent and/or stretched in accordance with the opening and/or closing operation of the sliding door.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, and the like may be appropriately made. In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement position, and the like of the constituent elements are optional, without limitation, as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved.

Here, the features of the embodiments of the electric wire protecting member and the method for manufacturing the electric wire protecting member according to the present invention described above will be briefly summarized in [1] to [5] below, respectively.

[1] An electric wire protecting member (10) that covers and protects an outer periphery of an electric wire, comprising:

an outer member (20) that is made of a flexible resin and has a tubular body in which crests (21) and troughs (22) are alternately formed in an axial direction around a circumferential direction orthogonal to the axial direction; and

a tubular bending restricting member (30) which is accommodated in the outer member (20) and is bendable in one direction with one side portion (30a) as an inner side,

wherein the bending restricting member (30) includes a plurality of divided tubular portions (33) connected by a connecting portion (34) formed in one side portion (30a) and a cutout portion (32), and

wherein the cutout portion (32) is inclined in the axial direction with respect to the radial direction of the bending restricting member (30).

[2] The electric wire protecting member according to [1],

wherein the bending restricting member (30) includes a slit (31) formed in the other side portion (30b) throughout the axial direction.

[3] A method of manufacturing a wire protecting member (10), comprising:

molding an exterior member (20) with a flexible resin;

a tubular molded body (30M) formed by extrusion molding;

forming a cut portion (32) by causing at least one of the cutting blades (53) to bite into the molded body (30M), dividing the molded body (30M) into a plurality of divided tubular portions (33) connected by a connecting portion (34) formed in one side portion (30a), and forming a tubular bending restriction member (30) which can be bent in one direction with the one side portion (30a) as an inner side; and

a tubular bending restricting member (30) is accommodated in the outer member (20).

[4] The method of manufacturing an electric wire protecting member according to item [3],

wherein biting at least one of the cutting blades (53) into the molded body (30M) comprises passing the molded body (30M) between a plurality of cutters (51) rotating in opposite directions in synchronization with each other, and biting the plurality of cutting blades (53) into the molded body (30M) from both sides.

[5] The method of producing an electric wire protective member according to [3] or [4],

wherein the biting of at least one of the cutting blades (53) into the molded body (30M) includes biting of at least one of the cutting blades (53) into the molded body (30M) obliquely, and forming a cutout portion (32) in the molded body (30M) that is inclined in an axial direction with respect to a radial direction.

[ description of reference numerals ]

1 Wiring harness (electric wire)

10 electric wire protection member

20 outer member

21 peak part

22 valley portion

30 bending limiting member

30a side part

30b another side part

31 slit

32 cut part

33 divided tubular part

34 connecting part

51 cutter

53 cutting blade.

Claims

1. An electric wire protecting member that covers and protects an outer periphery of an electric wire, comprising:

an outer member having a tubular body made of a flexible resin in which crests and troughs are alternately formed in an axial direction around a circumferential direction orthogonal to the axial direction; and

a tubular bending restricting member that is accommodated in the outer member and is bendable in one direction with one side portion as an inner side,

wherein the bending restricting member includes a plurality of divided tubular portions connected by a connecting portion formed in the one side portion and a cutout portion, and

wherein the cutout portion is inclined in the axial direction with respect to a radial direction of the bending restricting member.

2. The electric wire protecting member according to claim 1,

wherein the bending restricting member includes a slit formed in the other side portion throughout the axial direction.

3. A method of manufacturing a wire protecting member, comprising:

molding an exterior member with a flexible resin;

extruding and forming a tubular formed body;

forming a cut portion by biting at least one of cutting blades into the molded body, dividing the molded body into a plurality of divided tubular portions connected by a connecting portion formed in one side portion, and forming a tubular bending restriction member bendable in one direction with the one side portion as an inner side; and

receiving the tubular bend limiting member in the outer member.

4. The method of manufacturing a wire protecting member according to claim 3,

wherein biting at least one of the cutting blades into the compact comprises passing the compact between a plurality of cutters rotating in opposite directions in synchronization with each other, and biting the plurality of cutting blades into the compact from both sides.

5. The method of manufacturing an electric wire protecting member according to claim 3 or 4,

wherein biting of at least one of the cutting blades into the molded body includes biting of at least one of the cutting blades into the molded body obliquely, and the cut-out portion inclined in an axial direction with respect to a radial direction is formed in the molded body.